Blind Spots (Sequel to Be Still)
by Plain Ol' Spectator
Summary: An Octoling conducts an investigation across Inkopolis in search of answers for her constant blackouts. However all is not as it seems, for she soon discovers a startling revelation about her condition, and an unlikely companion with far closer ties to her than she had thought.


Something was very wrong, Sophie knew it in her hearts. Otherwise, she wouldn't be trembling so much while in the comfort of her room.

She had not gone out today, and wasn't sure if she even wanted to anymore. After all, who knows what could happen? If some new event were to send her into yet another of her sudden, random blackouts, only for her to wake up somewhere that was in no way where she intended to be at a certain day?

Frankly, she was getting tired of it. **Why **did they have to happen, and what could she even do to stop them? She pondered over these questions well after she got her lunch, as she now stood up and proceeded to pace back and forth in the quaint little room she called home.

While doing so, her head slightly moved down and a peach-skinned hand was placed on her chin. "I don't get it," She said out loud, "H-have I been pushing my body too hard? No, I don't do any exercise that's too demanding. B-but Maybe it happened during a turf war?"

She shook her head disapprovingly at this notion. "Ugh, no.. if I did, I would've been in a hospital by now. The referee would've told me, at least…"

As she sat down, Sophie's mind got to work once more, searching and remembering any abrupt cuts in her experiencing of time, any incident in which she lost consciousness.

She grabbed the nearest piece of paper and pen she could find and wrote down any and all instances she could remember of passing out. 5 occasions came to mind, all in all, much less than Sophie assumed she went through. A small relief, yet it did little to ease her worry. She needed to get closer, to unearth the 'how' of it all.

"Okay. I remember passing out in my first match on that ancient-looking Pavillion, and again in the match on Sturgeon when I first met.. him." Sophie began to recount, tapping her pen to her cheek. "But even then, I felt it coming. Like.. a warning before it happened. Then there's that other time I passed out near a store next to here. I felt it coming that time, too. And when I woke up, I was either in a nursery or the same place where I drifted off…"

Yet as she reminded herself of these facts, the doubt in her mind lingered. There had to be another reason, another cause for her blackouts aside from mere fatigue, since they definitely were not enough to explain how she sometimes teleported to different places upon waking up. The last time that happened in particular was still a doozy for her. She wrote down 'fatigue' on her paper and set the pen down, proceeding to rise from her chair and half-heartedly laying down on her bed.

Her eyes closed, the girl pondering over the 'teleportation'. Obviously, she was unable to actually use such power, otherwise she'd have already made her daily life much easier. So naturally there had to be something— or perhaps someone?— that moved her from one place to another while she was out like a light. She was sent to a nearby nursery the two times she passed out during a match, and now that she thought of it, she remembered waking in a brown, wood-lined room one time and found the middle-aged owner of the store she frequented checking to see if she were alright. A kind fellow, he was, even if he came off as a creep at times.

Perhaps there always happened to be someone near the places she passed out, who managed to get her to a safe place first before she could come home. That had to be it, no?

She giggled upon thinking it over. "As nice as that would be, it's too convenient of a reason. No one here is kind enough to carry me here, or even to a hospital on their own."

Unless it was that boy she met some time ago, of course. He'd certainly offer to help her…

Sophie shook that thought out of her head as soon as she felt her cheeks heat up. She looked around her room, then to the afternoon sky framed outside her window, and down at herself. Perhaps a walk could serve her well right about now, help clear her mind and think better. And so she stepped off her bed and got ready, readjusting her gray sweater and blue jeans while also slipping on her neo octoling boots. Once she got a good look at herself thanks to a nearby mirror she recently bought, she proceeded to quickly grab her octo-shades from the bedside table and walk out the door, into the outside city of Inkopolis.

The walk itself remained uneventful from beginning to the current time, to Sophie's relief. She could think much more clearly now, and as a bonus she got to see more of the wonderful city. Needless to say, it brought a small smile to her face.

She came near a wide balcony, lined with short trees and rows of flowers neatly organized along a rhodonite-tiled platform. There also happened to be a bench, perfect for getting a great view of the horizon.

This really was a good spot! The setting sun amidst the dusk sky, along it's light being reflected on the sparkling ocean down below made for a beautiful backdrop in Sophie's mind, and she felt glad she was able to experience it all from the comfort of the little bench she was in. The sunlight that shone directly on her face was proving to be a little too much for her eyes, almost blinding. Then again, she brought her shades for a reason. She used her right hand to cover her eyes from the light and simultaneously used her left to slip out the shades from her jeans' pocket and putting them over her eyes. It's dark lens worked perfectly, managing to block out the rays directly hitting her face while still allowing enough light for her to get a good look at the horizon. Much better!

Sophie smiled and continued to bask in the sunset for a minute.

Suddenly a yawn escaped her lips, and her emerald green eyes began to ever so slightly droop down more and more. Sophie felt her mind go cloudy and her head move down, all the while pleasant thoughts filled her head. She felt herself slipping—

…

…

A faint whooshing sound passed by. Muffled murmurs echoed. Her idle hands felt something soft under them, yet her vision remained dark. Vagrant thoughts trickled in one by one as her consciousness returned.

"_Wha…? Where..._

_..Bright light, an ocean below… a bench?_

_Trees..?_

_Wait, that was.. a park?_

—_The park!"_

Her eyes shot open, and with a start the octoling re-emerged from slumber. A dozen questions crashed down on her all at once while she regained her bearings, and her thoughts were a hazy, jumbled mess. In an instant she leapt out of bed with a surprisingly high energy, and after looking down at herself— observing that she somehow still had the same sweater, jeans and even boots combination as when she went out— noticed something out of place in her room.

That white grocery bag near her door wasn't there yesterday. Where did it come from? Her reasoning mind told her it was likely something she bought when she left, but no images came to mind that would prove such an event as having happened. Another answer formed; perhaps it was during her leisure walk towards… where again?

She put a hand on her forehead, though it did little to cull the increasing throbbing she was feeling. "A.. park? Did I even go there?"

Hard as she tried, no tangible memory came up, and her recollections of the previous night were rapidly fading. At best, only vague images remained.

Sophie winced and shook her head. Trying any harder to remember would only worsen the throbbing, and there were other things she needed to focus on anyways. Like the mysterious bag.

She took short steps toward it and knelt down to take a look at it's inner contents. Only a box of chips and a bottle of.. apple juice?

There was even a small note inside, which read '_Tasty gifts -V_'.

Sophie's eyes narrowed. She certainly didn't ask anyone for gifts like these..

* * *

Cod, she felt tired.

A grocery bag wasn't supposed to send her mind into overdrive, and after analyzing it for a good chunk of the morning, Sophie just wanted to stop.

So naturally, arriving to Inkopolis Square seemed like a decent activity for Sophie, if only so she could take a break from so much thinking and theorizing. Goodness knows doing too much of it would melt her brain. So, she decided to brush her troubles aside if only for a few moments, and enjoy everything the Square had to offer.

With a cup of coffee and a magazine with her, Sophie had all she needed to relax. It was only a couple pages in her reading, however, than she felt a pair of hands grip her shoulders suddenly. Shock filled her being, yet as she whipped around to see who it was she felt her cheeks warm up and her hearts hasten.

It was him again!

"Whatcha doin' there, missy?" The inkling boy asked with a sly smile, causing Sophie to look down sheepishly. It was for a few seconds however, for he dropped the act and offered a fun-filled laugh and a welcoming grin, letting go of the octoling's shoulders.

"I kid. How's it going, Sophie?" He greeted jovially.

"A-ah, I'm doing fine, uh…" She trailed off when another thought came up, one that set her off into an internal panic. She unwittingly chirped a small whimper.

The boy mock-pouted and crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you forgot.. It's Adrian, silly!"

Sophie stammered an apology, and thankfully for her Adrian accepted it. The cyan-haired, tan-skinned inkling plopped on the chair next to hers, and already they began striking up a conversation.

"W-well, what about you?" Sophie asked simply, unsure of what else to say.

"Really tired, actually.. gotta tell ya, some people are **insane** at these games! Like, this morning me and some buddies were doing just fine aside from the occasional loss, but then this squad came in and they started to kick our butts a dozen times!"

Sophie's gaze gained a little worry. "Oh my.. it wasn't too severe though, right?"

"If a 23-loss streak and being constantly harassed by two tryhard octolings counts, then sure I guess," Adrian whined, laying his head on the table.

This got Sophie's attention. Two octolings? If there were others like her who arrived at inkopolis, then she didn't know a thing about them. Thinking she'd be the only one to escape was perhaps foolish on her part. Or perhaps..

No. Another ridiculous notion. Why was she worrying about that now, anyways. She came to _relax_, after all. Still, it left her wondering...

"Well.. what were the octolings like?" She asked once more.

"Aside from being really good with their weapons, they sure talked a lot. One of 'em kept chewing out a kid in her team so much he left in tears, and I swear the other was never gonna shut up if I kept losing. She's not bad once you get closer to her though.. kinda fun to hang around with, honestly!" He finished with a chuckle.

"_Fun, eh? It'd be nice having something like that,_" Sophie lamented to herself as her mouth unwittingly curled into a frown. Adrian noticed this however, yet just as he was about to ask the octoling if she was alright, she spoke up before he had a chance.

"I'm fine. I've just been.. thinking about a few things."

"Like?"

"...Who were those octolings?"

A simple question to dodge his own.

Adrian paused. ".. Are you-"

"No. I assure you, it's not what you think," She clarified with a firm tone that took Adrian by surprise, with him even leaning back a little in his seat. He wiped a nonexistent sweat off his brow.

"Phew.. well, I think they were called... Vanessa and Natasha? I dunno, I barely got their names when they appeared in the lobby at first. They both have red tentacles and they wore some admittedly fresh clothes. Though, one of them had blue tips at the ends of their tentacles for some reason, along with these weird shades I've never seen before.."

Sophie merely hummed in response, having already taken out a small notepad and pen and scribbling down the details of Adrian's description. She looked around the square, but was unable to find anyone who could fit Adrian's description.

"Oh, they're not here at the moment," Adrian chimed in, "Vanessa said she needed to get some rest, and Natasha left because of, uh.. something about getting a gift for someone, I think?"

"Oh, I was.. hoping I could get to meet them," she said flatly, still in her search.

She didn't know how or why, but a hunch assured her that these two octolings could lead her closer to finding the truth. Sudden and off-base, perhaps, but still very possible in her mind.

Yet before she could stand up and leave, the concerned golden eyes of Adrian stopped her in her tracks, almost making her shrink under them. "If something's bothering you, you don't have to keep it to yourself, you know."

"I… I'll tell you later, alright? I-I have to go now," She stood up from her seat quickly ,and without another glance turned around and began to walk away from the table. Adrian stood up as well and cusped his hands over his mouth to shout at the departing Sophie.

"Hey, don't you wanna play turf or something?!"

"Not now! Thank you for the offer, still!" Sophie shouted back with a wave, getting farther and farther from Adrian until she was out of his sight.

"..Man, girls are weird.." The inkling boy asked to himself as he was left alone, visibly confused and wondering if he said something wrong.

A sad frown framed Sophie's face as she departed the Square. Playing turf now **would** be nice, in actuality. If this were any other day, she would've accepted without question.

She couldn't, not in the mood she was in at the moment, and certainly not when there were more pressing matters to worry about.

* * *

A bag that appeared suddenly. Recurrent episodes of passing out, and bouts of memory loss. And now, two octolings.

And Sophie still felt no closer to figuring out what's been happening to her.

She was now idly sitting on another bench she found in one of Inkopolis' many sidewalks, looking down at her phone. Adrian was kind enough to send her a couple of pictures and a video for better reference as to who the octolings were, and for now Sophie decided to watch the video.

Her jaw remained dropped as she continued to watch the so-called Vanessa in action. Her sauntering to and from, her playful teasing towards Adrian and a few other squids, the loose punk-styled clothing that only served to show off her curves, and Great Zapfish, all the suggestive stances she took!

She would've been immediately expelled from the army had she been seen trying any of this back in the Canyon.

"_Heya, squirt. Whatcha doin'?_" Vanessa asked in the recording to a very happy-looking Adrian.

"_Huh-Oh hey 'Nessa! Come say hi to the camera if ya want!_" the inkling beckoned, before the camera was moved around to record the octoling and her devious smirk.

"_But I have stage fright.. just kidding! I'd love to spend some time with all the lovely squiddos watching this, if you get what I mean,_" The octoling smirked and even waggled her eyebrows.

"_Woah, I think that's a bit too far,_" Adrian remarked as he scratched his head, "_But don't worry! She doesn't bite!_"

"_Nope,_" She knelt down and wrapped her arms around Adrian's neck. "_Not as long as this cutie is around, hehe!_"

"_Do you do this with everyone you beat in turf?_"

"_Maybe.. or maybe not. Ahhh, who cares really?_" She said in a lax tone, which prompted the two cephalopods to break into hearty, fun-filled laugh.

Sophie was left to scoff at such attitude. How could Adrian or anyone else endure her?

Part of Sophie felt glad she hadn't met her during her talk with Adrian, and she hoped that whatever meeting she ended up having with this show-off Octo was a short one. She turned her phone off after looking at more pictures of the two octos and made her way around the city streets in search of them.

Yet for every face Sophie spotted in the sidewalks, for every citizen she bumped into, and for every corner she looked in there were no signs of either of the octolings she was looking for. Asking around didn't help much either. Inkopolis was a big city after all, and if she persevered then surely she'd be able to find them. Right?

Hopefully it doesn't take more than a few days for that to happen.

For now, she decided to get a brief respite from the searching in a nearby cafeteria she spotted. Right away there was a vacant table for the taking, too, and for the moment she focused on enjoying her snack.

Occasionally she took a glance at the ongoings of the cafeteria. A family of 4, all inklings, were happily chatting away with a large dolphin fellow, and beings like trouts, clownfish, manta rays and axolotls were doing various things as well. No one looked at anyone weirdly, something that always fascinated her. How so many people of different shapes, sizes, backgrounds and cultures could intermingle so harmoniously and with little conflict was and still is a mystery to her, despite how much joy it brought. What is it that allows people to see past outward appearances and forge links with one another, in comparison to the strict, reserved environment in octo canyon, where the fellow octos Sophie met were at most coworkers and acquaintances, and all outsiders were looked down upon as if unnatural creatures?

She even saw a thin ammonite person waiting at the counter and doing some small talk with an octoling. Cute scene...

"_Wait, what?!_" Sophie did a double take and trained her gaze on the octoling. Sure enough, she looked just like the one from one of the pictures Adrian sent her, the one with just the plain red tentacles. Since Vanessa was the one with blue tips on her hair, the one here had to be Natasha.

Sophie did not make any immediate approaches, however. Too hasty and sudden of a greeting would only drive Natasha away, and she wouldn't say anything unless she felt she could trust Sophie. Yes, perhaps Sophie needed to become her 'friend' first before asking the important questions?

Sounded like a fine plan, if a little rough. Sophie waited for Natasha to finish her purchase at the counter-a presumably large item stored inside a hefty box wrapped in gift paper- and started following her as soon as she passed her by. With the sluggish manner in which she moved with the gift in arms, it likely was a tad too heavy for Natasha. She could collapse at any moment. Which of course, she did, thanks to a discreetly thrown stone courtesy of Sophie that tripped Natasha up while she wasn't focused.

Just as she intended, Sophie swooped in and caught the other octoling before they could hit the ground,utilizing her own set of hands to better carry the gift. "Are you okay?" She asked, to which Natasha responded with a slow nod.

"I'm sorry. That was too careless of me," She added, a look of shame present on her face.

"Not at all. Besides, there's been no harm done," Sophie replied sweetly.

"I guess. Thank you for your help, though. Hauling this thing all day would've killed my arms," Natasha laughed. Sophie giggled at the quip as well, and after some introductions and direction-giving from Natasha, the two octolings got to work on moving the large gift to Natasha's home.

During their voyage, the pair decided to make a quick stop to rest, and they both sat down at a bench to catch their breath.

"Man, this really saves me a lot of time. I can't thank you enough, honestly," Natasha commented in a relieved tone as she relaxed her shoulders.

"Glad to have helped!" Sophie beamed, clasping her hands together.

"It's just also nice to see a fellow octo out in the city, y'know? Makes being here seem a little less daunting.."

"Inkopolis doesn't seem so bad to me, though.. are we the only ones to have arrived here?"

"I dunno," Natasha shrugged, "I've only seen you and that Vanessa girl around. But hey, if the two of us managed to leave the Canyon, I'm sure others will start coming in the city sooner or later."

"I hope so.. this place is wonderful," Sophie added, turning her gaze skyward.

"Not the word I'd use, but I agree…"

Sophie turned towards the Octoling again and asked. "Natasha.. after we carry your gift home is it.. okay if you help me with something?"

"Okay, I guess? What is it?"

"Just, ah, to put some doubts of mine to rest."

The dubious frown that framed Natasha's face incited feelings of insecurity in Sophie, and she faltered as to whether this was a good idea or not. She shut those thoughts out before they truly settled in her brain, however. She needed to achieve her goal above all else for now.

Eventually, they resumed their hauling of the gift and made it to the small apartment where Natasha said she lived in, and upon reaching its doorstep, the two octolings set the large gift on the ground.

"What's this gift for?" Sophie asked after taking a moment to catch her breath.

"It's.. for Vanessa, actually! Met her recently and wanted to give her a little something as a token of my gratitude," Natasha clarified, glancing down at the box. "Though I guess it's not so little after all, huh?" She joked with a small giggle.

"I see.." Sophie nodded slowly. "Shouldn't you send it straight to her instead? Why did you-" Sophie stopped herself in the midst of her sentence upon deducing her answer.

"Yeah, if she lived closer, then I could. I can only move around for so long before tiring out, and I don't own a vehicle of my own, so I made another stop here and I'll let her know that she can come pick it up."

"Ah.. where does she live then?"

"I think she said.. Wingfin Avenue, 4th street?"

Sophie's breath got caught in her throat upon hearing those directions. "..Do they live in a red apartment?"

"From what they've told me at least- Wait, you live there too?" Natasha asked, looking at Sophie with surprise, and she in turn nodded slowly. "Huh, didn't know you two were neighbors!"

"Me neither…" Sophie trailed off. The detached tone in which she expressed her thoughts masked the fear building up within her. How come she's never seen Vanessa while passing by the other dorms whenever she got out? How did Vanessa's meeting with Adrian just so happen to occur shortly before Sophie went to visit him?

It could've been just coincidence right? Or perhaps something else is at play..

"Hey, is this related to those doubts you mentioned?" Natasha asked out of the blue, breaking Sophie out of her trance.

"Um.. I can send this box to Vanessa for you, if you want! I wouldn't mind helping out some more!" Sophie offered a bit too eagerly, taking hold of the box on the floor and trying to lift it up. Her companion stopped her, however, and looked her in the eye with concern that appeared much more serious than her previous demeanor.

"I don't mind if there's something bothering you, okay? It's fine if you don't wish to say for now, but you don't have to hide your worries from me, either."

She gazed at Vanessa with a stunned expression. "R-really?"

"I know we just met.. but if you ever need anything don't be afraid to come to me, alright? Heck even if you're in trouble somewhere, just call me."

Yet more questions slithered their way into the shyer octoling's psyche; Most important of all, Why was Natasha so dang friendly with her? How did she know what to say? It's not as if-

Wait.. The friendly disposition with which she carried herself, her willingness to help, her sending of gifts to friends (well, friend).. The bag on her home was labelled a gift too, and Sophie was returned to her home upon passing out..

Sophie gasped in realization. "_Of course! She must've been the one to have brought that gift to my room! She had to have been the one to return me home when I passed out!_"

"Soph? What's-"

"I just remembered something! I-I'll come back as soon as I can, ok? I need to go!" Sophie hastily blurted out as she picked up the gift box and broke into a run, leaving Natasha and her home behind.

This had to be it, no? It explained nearly everything that has happened to her, it made sense in Sophie's mind. Now she just needed to make sure her information was correct, and eventually confront Natasha about it. That, and she still needed to meet her supposed neighbor in person.

Suddenly, she was tripped up by something as she passed an alleyway, causing her to fall and drop the present. She turned her body around only to be met with a large figure standing over her, knife in hand. With a whimper she crawled away from them in a panic, yet it proved to be fruitless in the face of the advancing stranger. The octoling was cornered into a darkened alleyway, and just as they raised their knife high and brought their arm down, Sophie let out a scream of fright.

Everything was dark for what seemed like a thousand moments. Ever so slowly but surely, Sophie's vision returned, and as her eyes readjusted and focused the first thing she saw was a distressed Natasha crouching over her, repeatedly shaking her body.

"Sophie?! Sophie, say something please!" She yelled in a panic.

"Huh..?"

Natasha quickly groped Sophie into a protective hug. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?! What happened here?!"

"Why do you ask?" She replied weakly, "I thought you'd already know…"

"What?"

"Thank you for saving me from that criminal, and for the bag, and for bringing me to my doorstep when you found me passed out in a park. You don't have to hide anything from me.."

"Uhhh, What are you talking about?" Natasha inquired with a confused brow. "When I came here these guys were already down."

Sophie broke from the hug and looked around the alley, seeing more than one of the cloaked figure lying on the ground, most likely unconscious. "You didn't? T-then who…"

"Whoever it was, they're gone now. Surprised these scum didn't lay a finger on you, though…"

"This doesn't make any sense.." Sophie quitely trailed off, observing the area. She was interrupted once Natasha tapped her shoulder and handed her the octo shades. "You dropped these," Natasha informed only a second before they were snatched from her hands by Sophie.

As if in a trance, Sophie stared at the sunglasses in her hands while the gears in her mind turned. Everything from today and yesterday replayed in her mind, and all instances in which she wore the item in her hands were given special attention. She couldn't recall moments in which she wore them.. Vanessa always appeared to have them on. She had an undercut and blue tips on her tentacles..

Blue tips...

With widened eyes, Sophie gasped. She quickly grabbed one of her tentacles and looked it over to see its tip colored a deep crimson, and instinctively she rolled up one of her sleeves to see a black leather wrist band with spikes. Like the ones Vanessa wore.

"What's wrong?"

Natasha's question fell on deaf ears, for Sophie immediately leapt to her feet and broke into a run once more with the large present in tow. She ignored Natasha's continued calling of her, as the only thing in mind was getting home and busting a sneaking suspicion-

The shades couldn't still be functional after a long time away from His influence, could they? There was no way they could do their _thing_.. Right?

* * *

With box in hand, Sophie ran all the way back to her apartment with as much speed as she could muster. Of course, she still needed to slow down at times so as to not murder her own hearts, but that didn't mean she had to stop running fast.

Soon, she was back in her room and right away proceeded to close her door and bring down the window curtains. No one needed to take a peek inside, anyways.

Sophie's palms were sweating as she set down a camera she just bought on her bed, and simply grabbing the hypnoshades caused her hands to shake. She let out a shaky breath and shook her head, yet once again it did little to wipe off her worries.

Oh, what even could anyways?! She was this close to getting an answer, so close to putting it all to rest, yet doing the one thing that would assure her of this seemed wrong, seemed as if she were about to walk onto a horrible trap.

She would just black out again, wasn't she? To wake up somewhere and in another time with no recollection as to how or why, right?! Her body would just be carried away by whatever force possessed her, no?! Ohhh, this was a horrible idea!

These thoughts rattled, coiled and banged in her the longer she stared at the shades in her quivering hands. Her gasps for air came out short and ragged, and she immediately felt her hearts hasten in their beating.

"_I.. I can't do this!_"

She threw the shades away in a panic, and soon her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed on the took in gusts of air, and for a few moments she merely laid there. Weakened, hesitant, tired..

Scared.

Pathetic, really. All because she didn't want to put on some shades. Yet as much as she wished to merely go to bed and forget about all this, Sophie would not allow her body to do so. She needed to see things through. "_Get ahold of yourself,_" She commanded, taking a series of deep breaths in the process.

With one more exhale she stood up on her feet once more, eyes trained on the pair of sunglasses that lay on the floor.

They were picked up with such care, it seemed as if she was holding a vase of glass. She might as well have in that moment. With extended arms, Sophie held out the shades in front of her face and carefully put them on. With bated anticipation she saw as they came online, with tiny lines of directives flashing rapidly through the lenses and a bright red dot lighting up on the lens of her left eye. Then…

…

Huh. Nothing ended up happening. She was still conscious and aware of her surroundings.

"What do you know? It was just—!"

The sentence got caught in her throat as a sudden indescribable pain struck Sophie's head. Her entire body flinched, and no sooner had the pain vanished than a wave of dizziness overcame Sophie. Her stance swayed and her body quivered, and she had to grab onto the mirror as a support just to remain standing. It was getting harder for Sophie to keep her eyes open, and even harder to think straight, for her thoughts began to get muddled and foggy.

The fog grew and grew, until it became too much for Sophie. Her heart stopped beating abruptly, her body froze and her eyes rolled to the back of her head and closed. All was still for a few moments..

The octoling trembled once more, and as new ink began to pump through her veins, her limbs and body all swelled. muscles and limbs becoming slightly more toned and bigger, to the point of straining the fabric of her clothes. A few small tears even erupted along her jeans, and the sleeves of her sweater rolled back a little. The crimson on the tips of her tentacles spread over her hair until it was coated entirely in the striking color, while the tips gained a light blue coloration.

The changes stopped, and after regaining some strength and taking a few gasps of air, the octoling straightened up and opened her eyes, shielded by the blackened lenses of the hypnoshades.

Vanessa merely looked herself in the mirror and flashed a mischievous smile in satisfaction.

Her smirk faded once she felt something off— itchy— about her clothes, and when she looked down at herself she made a noise of disgust.

"Ugh, this stupid sweater **again**?! Why do I keep waking up with this?!" She complained loudly, poking her tongue out. Grumbles escaped her mouth as she right away got to changing her appearance for the next few minutes.

When she finished her attire was just like how she was when she went out today, dressed in a dark blue tank top and having rolled up her jeans so that they reached a shorter length and her legs were shown more openly. She still wore the neo octoling boots of Sophie, and she outfitted herself with black spiked armbands and black earrings. The four tentacles of hair

had been bunched up into a short ponytail, leaving the undercut that wrapped around the sides and back of her head exposed.

"There.. much better," Vanessa nodded upon looking at her reflection in the mirror once more.

Following a brief stretch of her limbs, Vanessa was about to head out the door when she noticed the camera from the corner of her eye, and instead she moved to pick it up from the bed. "Oh hey, it's recordin'!" She pointed out cheerily upon seeing it's display screen, and moved it so that it was pointing at her, with Vanessa flashing a punk sign with her free hand.

She finished the recording that somehow reached 3 minutes in length and expressed aloud "I wonder if there's anything else in this." Vanessa was surprised to see just one video. Maybe this was a recent purchase of hers?

She brushed the question aside, however, and instead decided to go out for the day. It would be just her, her fun and—

"_Out…_"

"Who's there?!" Vanessa turned around in an instant, yet there was no one to train her eyes on aside from herself.

"_Me.. out.._"

Another muffled whisper resounded, and Vanessa wrathfully swung open the doors of her closet in another attempt at a search, yet once again there was no one for her to blame.

"If this is a joke, it isn't funny! Show yourself!" She shouted in a rage.

"_Not a jo.. please let.._"

Vanessa could only groan in response. Can't this idiot take a hint?!

"Don't care, not listening~"

"_LET ME OUT!_"

The voice's plea stabbed through her being without relent, and a harsh throbbing sensation drilled into her head more and more by the second. The octoling yelled in fear and pain and was forced to her knees. She could barely think, the only thing on her mind now being the excruciating hurt and more desperately how to get rid of it. This sudden, wildfire that's tearing her apart from the inside, it was becoming too much.

Vanessa was stuck writhing on the floor and yelling like a mad girl. Without thinking she clawed at her face repeatedly until her hands got ahold of her shades. They were promptly yanked off her face, why she did not know, and the throbbing vanished. A brief victory, for she soon lost consciousness..

Only to regain it in a pitch black void that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Vanessa leapt to her feet, and was left utterly puzzled as to.. well, everything really. No point in moving around then, where could Vanessa go anyways?

"Who are you?" Vanessa heard a familiar voice say from behind, and she turned around to see a worried Sophie standing a few meters apart from her.

"I could ask the same thing," Vanessa replied, walking up to the other Octoling and sizing her up. "You.. you nerd."

Sophie was taken aback. "N-nerd? But I'm not… Hey!" She retorted with a sudden accusatory shout, weirding out Vanessa.

"You! you're the one from the recording, the one who.. got all touchy with Adrian!" Sophie yelled again (though the last sentence had a meeker tone), pointing a finger at the other Octoling.

"Jeez, I was just flirting with him. Besides, he's just another squid," Vanessa shrugged with an unamused expression.

"He's—.. nevermind that! What are you doing here?" Sophie asked again in a more pressing tone.

"Hmm, I dunno. I figured that maybe the voice that brought me here would HAVE A CLUE!" Vanessa suddenly shouted as she got in Sophie's face. Sophie nearly shrank under Vanessa's stare, and the obsidian glasses that were framed on her face only made Sophie feel more intimidated.

"I-I'm sorry.." Sophie looked down apologetically, "I didn't mean to—"

"Then why'd you do it?" Vanessa seethed, staring down Sophie even more.

"I-I want to get out.. and I want you to stop running around in my body!"

"**W-what**?! The heck are you talking about, I've got my own body!"

Sophie took a breath in to calm down, then asked "Well Vanessa, do you remember any instance in which you weren't wearing those shades?"

"Of course I do, I took them off when.. uhhhh.. " Vanessa put a hand to her chin and began to think. Tried as she might, however, the aforementioned octoling was unable to find any memory that could answer Sophie's question.

"You can't, can you? And I can't remember a moment in which I wore the shades.. which means that they have to be the reason why we black out at times. No.. they're the cause of the change."

The assuredness with which Sophie stated her reasoning unnerved Vanessa, who had her mouth slightly agape at what she just heard and was uncharacteristically fidgeting.

"As if! You're probably just some imaginary friend in my head, trying to tell me something. Maybe I just forgot all the times I didn't have the shades on because they're so dang good," Vanessa retorted, though it came out in a way that seemed nervous.

Sophie frowned. Was she trying to ignore her on purpose?

The thought was pushed to the side when she noticed something familiar on Vanessa's head. It was barely visible, but she could make out the shape; an undercut that wrapped around the sides of her head, with the left side displaying a pattern of three thin ridges running along.

Just like the pattern on her own left side.

She felt the ridges on her own head, hidden by her loose tentacles, and pulled them up and tilted her head to the side to show Vanessa.

She could only gape in surprise. "No.. no way…"

"I don't know why or how this has happened, and I'm probably a little off on this but.. I think you.. you may be my alternate personality, Vanessa."

"Wh-no.. You're just lying!" Vanessa shouted defiantly with a shake of her head, "There's only one me, and I never did anything to have **you** intrude on my life!"

"W-we wouldn't be in this void if it was a trick!" Sophie pleaded.

"Then what am I doing here?! Who- who am I supposed to be then, if I'm just another aspect of you?! Am I just a tool for you to use whenever you're tired?!" Vanessa cried out repeatedly, grabbing her head.

Sophie merely looked on in fear. She took hesitant steps closer to Vanessa and gripped her shoulders.

"P-p-please, calm down!" she pleaded again.

"I can't be calm about this! I- " Vanessa stopped when she met Sophie's worried gaze. It must have gotten to the very core of her being, for her tirade came to a swift end and she closed her eyes to then take a deep breath. "I.. really hate you for this, you know?"

"I know, and I'd like to apologize. I wanted answers but.. I never expected this would be the result."

"Alright then, since you know so much about what's happening, how do we get out of here?"

Sophie looked down in thought for a few moments, then faced Vanessa and answered "One of us could regain consciousness, but as for the other, I-I don't know.."

"That's all I needed to know. Hope you enjoy being cooped up in here Soph," Vanessa asserted, giving Sophie a small goodbye wave before breaking into a run. She didn't get very far before she felt her hand being grabbed by the meeker octoling.

"Wait! You don't even know how you're going to-"

"I'll figure it out, and then I won't have to black out all the time with you getting in the way," she snarled back.

"Not on your own, you won't. Not without the shades," Sophie insisted. "I...I can regain control of the body for the both of us, a-and if you want I can give you the.. th-the-"

"Reins?" Vanessa finished, to which Sophie nodded affirmatively. "It's for real, right? you're not gonna trick me?"

"I have no reason to," Sophie answered with a shake of her head, to which Vanessa grinned.

"Good. We would've had problems if you chose to lock me up here," She said in a menacing tone, which did it's intended purpose of scaring the shy octoling, if even a little.

They both remained static for an extended period of time, merely staring at each other, assessing each other. Wondering how the other even existed without their knowledge for a time.

"Well? Aren't you gonna go back to the real world?"

"This is.. I don't know what I'm going to do. With having to account for you now and all the changes that'll come with that, the things this will do to my life, to yours even… oh what am I going to tell Adrian?"

"Nothing." Sophie looked to Vanessa for clarification, and she clarified "Not him, not Natasha, not whoever else we met and are going to meet. As far as they know, you and I are just two acquaintances who never bother to meet face to face."

"But we can't keep this hidden forever.. someone will find out sooner or later, won't they?"

"Maybe… Doesn't mean we won't try our hardest to cover it up. For now, let's agree to never disclose our condition to the outside world."

"Alright then.." Sophie nodded reluctantly. In her mind she found this a rash, terrible decision, made only so they would not have to go through the trouble of looking for actual help, less so a psychiatrist. Did Vanessa truly think they'd be able to deal with this on their own?

Still, for as much as Sophie would like to object to the idea, it was pointless to argue for now. She needed no more problems between her and.. her?

No. She wasn't Vanessa, and Vanessa wasn't her.

After bidding each other some awkward goodbyes, Sophie closed her eyes, and upon opening them again was greeted with the sight of the roof of her small room. To her left lay the hypnoshades on the floor, and to her right the mirror. Right away she noticed that she was again in Vanessa's getup, and she leapt to her feet and got to work on returning to her original look.

The octoling looked at herself in the mirror. The dull, frowning face that stared back at her seemed tired, so so tired of the long day that's passed. She glanced to the window— The sun was still high in the sky and already she felt like going to bed, yet still she knew there was much to be done. So much to be done in order to get used to her literal double life.

"Vanessa? Vanessa, are you there?" Sophie called out. She should've expected her words to fall on deaf ears, for no response came either in her mind or from anywhere.

"Guess she truly isn't aware of anything while I'm conscious. Since the same happens to me while she's out, there's no way for us to communicate with one another. Unless.."

She moved to her bedside table and from one of the drawers brought out her small notebook, then wrote down a message in it before putting on the hypnoshades again, despite some initial hesitation.

Vanessa emerged once more, surprise and confusion etched on her demeanor. She looked around the room as if in a daze, until her stare settled on the note resting on her bed.

"'_As promised'_?" She read aloud upon taking the paper in her hands. "S-she did say she'd give me control back but.. this soon?"

Vanessa looked to the outside window and the afternoon orange sky behind it. She had the remainder of the day to herself now, yet despite the many things she wished to do in the next few moments to forget about what she's just experienced, she..

This wasn't her time yet. She needed to make sense of her existence, of the voice in her head first before doing anything else, otherwise she'd be constantly distracted. And one thing Vanessa never wants is distractions.

"It's kind of you, Soph, but.. Nah. I need to clear my head first, you can have as much time as you want for now."

And with that, Vanessa went to sleep upon taking the shades off her face, and Sophie returned to the physical world once more. The first thing she laid eyes on was a new message on the paper that wasn't there when she was conscious. Vanessa surely wrote it.

" '_Thank you. -V_'" It read. Nothing more and nothing less.

Sophie smiled sweetly.

"No. Thank **you**."


End file.
